Tata Aria : Test Drive & Review

This is a discussion on Tata Aria : Test Drive & Review within Official New Car Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Excellent Review GTO, as always the very best, it certainly has inspired me to give TATA a second look, my ...

Amazing review GTO and rehaan as always. The car looks great but the pricing surely makes things a little tough for it. As you mentioned most buyers in the 15lakh segment do look out for that status symbol tag and I am not sure if tata carries one as yet( my personal opinion). Nor does it give the peace of mind regarding reliability( as evident by the stapled fabric- what the hell).
But overall it does fill the void in that 13-19 lakh bracket. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Thanx GTO / Rehan for the review...
Waiting for the honest review...Now we got it..

Still i think ARIA is overpriced by 1-2 lac.

-- There should not be a pannel Gaps like this in a 17 Lacs car.
-- Dead pedal which is absent, is a must have for long journey.
-- Excess roof storage....
-- Some inconsistent pannel gaps on dash too(i might worng...as per picture)

On the flip side, over a 100 kph, the Aria doesn’t feel anywhere as planted as an Innova. There is always some amount of unwanted vertical movement over less-than-perfect roads. In fact, even on the expressway, there is some choppiness

Thanks GTO & Rehaan, for the comprehensive review !

How many passengers were in the vehicle during your test drive?

I hope the ARIA will feel more planted on the road with a load of 5 people and some luggage, as is usual in my case while driving on highways

Great review, seems totally unbiased,real and on which one can actually trust.
So million rupee question , Toyota Innova or Aria, if only peace of mind (from my perspective reliability, decent performance, acceptable looks,safety) is concerned?
I have to decide within a week...this happened to be long wait and now wanted to reach to conclusion....and go ahead with the purchase...(already cancelled booking of innova to check Aria)

Nice review GTO ! But I think TATA has goofed up the pricing to some extent! I am not sure whether TATA still commands this kind of premium for its vehicles.

I also hope that they release a fully stripped bare basic model for taxis. This would definitely take some sales from Innova. Need to wait and watch whether they are looking at that segment itself ! Now I am looking for some long term ownership reports to check how TATA has made the product and related set ups [read A**]

Must say TATA's have come a long long way. And its more of only the "impression" of being inferior that is problem for it. They need a good PR exercise to overcome that i guess. And with the recent superb product releases of Vista, Manza and now Aria, I think they are doing that well.

Having said that, I feel slightly sad with fellow BHPians looking down only on price factor. I think this is because we inherently are comparing it with Innova. If we see the past recent products, Tata's have aimed to target a segment above and same is the case with this car. IMO it targets Fortuner, Captiva and the likes of these with better features and cheaper price in a completely different avatar of a MUV.

But this is only half done. It still needs to also compete with these cars in terms of A-S-S. Which is the biggest challenge for this car I think.

Well wishing Tata's all the very best and lets see how things unfold. May the best one win

It sounds & looks like there is a HUGE improvement in the quality of the interiors though its disappointing to read about patches stapled onto the floor mats. I love the instrument dials & must confess that I'm totally blown away by the space in the luggage area with all three rows in place! I do see some stuff carried over from the Safari though packaged better, for example -

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

• Push-in the fuel lid to open, push-in to shut. There’s no control inside the cabin for locking / unlocking it. The fuel lid is dependent on the central locking system.
• If you try to remote-lock the Aria, and one door has been accidentally left open, it’ll throw out a warning horn. Neat.

ROTFL at this one, looks like they ain't taking any chances -

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

The inbuilt GPS has an option to guide you to the nearest Tata dealership / service station. Neat, especially when in unfamiliar locations:

I agree, haven't seen these on any vehicle earlier! -

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Extendable sunshades rock!

Nice touch, will come in real handy -

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

A hydraulic jack to make things a little easier:

Now the pricing - we'll have to wait & see how many people scoop up the top end at that price. They've obviously taken a very bold step & made a clear distinction of the product vis a vis the Innova, lets wait & see how the market reacts to it! And, contrary to general expectations/perceptions, I don't think TML want to roll this out to the Call Center Cab market - the Grande can continue to cater to that one.

I can see a lot of things including the foot-well for driver are carried over from Safari.

Engine bay looks better the current vehicles engien bay but I was disappointed to see the clip type fastner for coolant hose. These clips are Achilles heel to otherwise sound engine which is debugged and niggle free after 3 years run in Safari.
.

2.2 Engine has more grunt then Innovas D4D and I enjoy innova drivers trying to race up and getting frustrated, general thinking is if it is tata it has to be inferior.

But yes the competition is fortuner with this pricing and they should have upped the engine to 160 BHP but then it will be a huge risk to try a new tune in a vehicle which must not fail.

For a change I disagree to the comment that dead pedal will be missed ( given seating is upright like safari) If fact if you place a dead pedal in safari you will have sore left calf muscle

PS : There is new Mak-Tata engine oil advertisement on FM radio from bharat petroleum not only the advertisement is crass but kind of demeans the Tata brand very badly timed around Aria launch.
TML need to remember they are no longer just a truck maker and this kind of add will seriously put off a new prospective buyers to shell out 17lakhs. After all who would like to listen rhyming words like Atta , batata , tamata in funny accent his new acquisition.

1) when is the 2WD being launched? the pricing is of a 4x4 Aria which cannot & should not be compared to a 2WD innova. maybe the 2WD aria will cost a lot lesser.

2) As you mentioned, scorpio's steering is not light at all, infact its heavier than the innova! pre mHawk scorpios had light steering. how does the Aria compare to that?

3) even i am disappointed to see that there is no button to lock/unlock the doors. the pull-push lever is very passe & irritating.

4) Tata could have incorporated many more info on the MDI screen. just GPS & reverse camera is being too basic. cmon, if a 7 lakh xylo can have it, why not the aria?

5) The interiors look really classy & stylish but space in the third row is really bad. also, the third row does not look comfortable like the innova, forget the xylo. so that makes the Aria a 5 seater basically. bad... wht bother making a MUV/crossover then, if you cant provide space in the third row?

The brochure mentions ESP! Did you get a chance to test if it really works on wet tarmac when the vehicle goes into a skid etc.,
That said, I am shocked with the price.
Lets look at the base variant. It costs 13L ex showroom, and its just a simple MUV with AC and heater and 4x4 and power windows.
So if a Xylo 4x4 comes for 10L, this baby will be 3L more, and thats asking a little too much for a center diff.

Also, things seem to be bolt on. On such an expensive vehicle tata should have pushed for a i-drive like system which integrates everything on a single screen. Electronics are dirt cheap. On such an expensive vehicle, the cost increase would not be noticeable.

Last but not the least, how is the durability of pastic vents and all. On many safaris after 1-2 years of use the knobs and AC vent direction rotary knobs go for a toss, getting loose and erratic. On a 10L vehicle it may be acceptable for a Tata but for a 17L vehicle this is inacceptable even for a Tata

i guess Tata is trying all guns to improve there overall image in Indian Market which has always treated them as second low cost option and taxi image stills howls them.

I think Aria can be an ice breaker for them with good looks and great interiors and still maintaining tata's sense of styling, Pricing can be an issue but overall market has evolved and Aria fills the void of 10-17 lac pretty decently.

Again the big doubt remains on the servicing side where tata has always remains shabby, Tata has to gear up from all sides to make this product a success.

The features given in this car are very impressive, however with keeping engine same as Safari, Tata didnt do justice to the car.

Also, the 4x4, considering normal roads driving I will keep 4x2 button pressed almost always, however when I get stuck then I will use 4x4. Now the question, will it help me get out of tough situations like a wheel gone in a pit ?

ESP is a good job done by Tata.

AT transmissions are a miss on all models by Tata, except Buses given to Delhi Transport Corporation. Wonder when will they start giving it on cars.

GTO, can you provide some more pictures on the tow hook ? Couldnt understand it from the photo as provided.